TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- Richard Spencer made a stop in Gainesville Thursday afternoon to share his alt-right ideas to the community and University of Florida students.
FSU students chose this day to stand with the Gators and condemn Richard Spencer's message of hate.
Spencer, who was originally scheduled to speak at the University of Florida back in September, had the date changed and pushed to October 19th. The school reportedly shelled out over 500 thousand dollars in extra security on campus.
Many Gators took to social media before Spencer's speech to denounce his ideas and thoughts using the hashtags "Gators not haters" and "together UF." This was all in an effort to ensure the public that Spencer's ideas are not a reflection of their own.
And for once, Even on the FSU campus, students rallied behind the Gators despite the usual rivalry.
"Even if there's a rivalry, this is a time where we should be together with them," says Samuel Castellanos, a Freshman at FSU. "We should have the same mentality of being against what Richard is saying. Even though there is that rivalry, I think that can just be put aside for a moment."
Other students at FSU believe that the First Amendment that allowed Spencer to speak at University of Florida creates a no-win situation for the school and students.
"I actually feel bad for the University because it is technically a first amendment rights for him to speak there even if he requests it and they can't really say no," says FSU freshemen Marissa Williamson. "It's really not their choice and I feel that's really sad."
While some students there were protesting and encouraging people not to attend the speech in Gainesville, students at FSU in Tallahassee were praising those who are choosing chose to say "no, and ignoring Spencer's alt-right views.
"I think definitely they do have their right to say, 'no, this is not allowed on our campus. We should not allow bigotry and racism and backward thoughts on to our campus. That's just not ok,'" explains Angelika Traverso, an FSU sophomore.
While there has not been a date set in stone, Spencer has requested to speak the the University of Cincinnati in the coming months.
